Canberra

AUS

Market Overview

The market continues to be quite tight due to ongoing budget constraints and the APS Strategic Commissioning framework. These factors have led to a cautious approach in hiring and spending, contributing to a challenging environment.

Contractor rates, in general, seem to be declining at a slow but steady pace. This trend is expected to continue into 2025 as organisations remain conservative with their budgets and hiring practices.

With the election looming, market conditions remain uncertain. Many government departments are already in caretaker mode, leading to delays in decision-making and project approvals. This uncertainty is likely to persist until after the election outcome is clear.

Meanwhile, the private sector and consultancies continue to show stability. We anticipate this steady performance to continue for the remainder of the 2025 financial year, providing some balance to the otherwise constrained market conditions.

Rob Ning

Rob Ning

Talent Canberra Managing Director

Candidate needs

  • Flexible or hybrid working arrangements is still number 1 – on the contrary, we are seeing more people being open to full-time office work if all other conditions are right.
  • Working on stable and fully funded projects – with the budget pressures of the last 12 months, we are seeing more candidates seek environments that are fully funded, or part thereof especially with election looming.
  • Candidates preference is still toward contracting due to the lucrative rates in Canberra, however, more are open to perm if the salary expectations are right.

Business needs

  • Candidates who show flexibility on rates and are prepared to meet client expectations.
  • Candidates who hold current security clearances are still in demand. Preferred working locations aren’t as high as clients are seeking the right candidates and are prepared to show flexibility on remote working, if needed. We are seeing this especially with highly niche technical skills.
  • Permanent candidates – push to convert contractors to perm.

The year ahead

With uncertainty in the year ahead with a federal government election, I predict a quieter than usual market, with less ability from government clients to proceed with new work and hiring additional staff. This will also impact the private sector growth in Canberra.

We will continue to see quieter market conditions, making it harder for departments to deliver on key projects. We expect to continue a see a push to APS recruitment to align with the APS Strategic Commissioning framework.

We are still yet to see government departments fully embrace the People Panel and BuyICT 2.0. Once these have been fully established, it will be exciting to see how departments use these to their full potential.

Should there be a change in government, proposed policies may influence APS staffing levels and practices. A greater push for transparency and accountability in recruitment processes could lead to new frameworks for assessing labour hire needs versus building an internal workforce. However, any significant changes would likely be implemented gradually to maintain service continuity.

We expect to continue to see some work from departments who are yet to complete their cloud/large-scale modernisation programs of work.

Discover salaries

Our experts interact with hiring managers and candidates daily, giving us unique, real-world insights into the latest salary and benefits trends.

Canberra

Talent Insights

Tech Talent

10k technology professionals with an average tenure of 1.9 years

(source: LinkedIn Talent Insights)

Gender Identity

30
% Female
70
% Male
*This information has been retrieved from sources with gender binary data. We acknowledge those who do not fit within this framework and understand there are more gender identities beyond the binary.
(source: LinkedIn Talent Insights)

Top Employers

  • Defence Australia
  • Australian Government
  • ACT Government
  • Services Australia
  • Australian Taxation Office
(source: LinkedIn Talent Insights)

Top Skills

  • Microsoft Azure
  • Microsoft Power BI
  • Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
  • Analytical Skills
  • R (Programming Language)

Living in

Canberra

AUS

Have you always dreamed of owning a large block of land and not being crammed into the rat race of Sydney or Melbourne? Then Canberra is the place for you. Centrally located, two hours from the snow, two hours from the beach and three hours from Sydney, Canberra offers the ultimate lifestyle for the active individual or family. Foodies are well looked after too, with a thriving bar and restaurant scene, Canberra has 10 recently hatted restaurants to choose from.

While house prices can be on the higher side, the value for money is second to none whether you are a first home buyer looking to jump into the property market or seeking a forever home. The push for more apartments across the suburban landscape has meant that there is more available for first home buyers or investors at reasonable prices.

With a large number of educational options available, Canberra offers the community hundreds of programs through a number of private and public education systems as well as higher education options, including a technical institute, delivering world-class education which is highly regarded and offers something for everyone.

Canberra
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$

5.60

Average cost of a coffee

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$

2,719

p/m

Average rent for 1 bed apartment

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$

104

p/m

Average gym membership

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